Fruit bagger and weigher



April 17, 1945.`

J` C. BROOME ET AL FRUIT BAGGER AND WEIGHER Filed July 5, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 www# April 17 1945. J. C'. BROOME ET AL 2,373,649

FRUIT BAGGER AND WEIGHER Filed July 5, 1943 4 sheets-sheet 2 Wwf/W0 J.' Jam/@5400 /l/f #940/ jaar .April 17, 1945. .1. c. BROOME ET-AL 2,373,649u

' FRUIT BAGGER AND WEIGHER Filed July 5, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 April 17, 1 C, BROQME ET AL 2,373,649

FRUIT BAGGER AND WEIGHER Filed July 5, 194s 4 sheets-sheet 4 17mm/fr Patented Apr. 17, 1945 Fam'r Banana AND warcnaa John C. Broome, Dunedin, and Henry D. Carlton,

Highlands City, Fla., assigner: to Food Machinery Corporation, San-Jose, Calif., a corporation of Delaware AApplication July 5, 1943., Serial No. 493,604

7 Claims. (Cl. 249-58) This invention relates to bagging and weighing devices and is especiallyuseful in bagging -rollable commodities such as citrus fruit.

It is an object of our invention to provide a relatively simple and inexpensive bagger and weigher,

It is another object of our invention to provide such a'bagger and weigher which automatically delivers a predetermined weight of material into each bag. l

The manner of accomplishing the foregoing objects, as well as further objects and'advantages, will be made manifest in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan-view of a preferred embodiment of the inventionl partially broken away to illustrate hidden portions of the mechanism thereof.

Fig. 21s a side elevational view of Fig. 1, and illustrates the beginning of a weighing operation.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 3-3 in Fig. 1, and illustrates the conclusion of aweighing operation.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective detail view taken in the direction of the arrow 4 in Fig. 1, with the parts positioned as in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the invention is showntherein as embodied in a bagger' and weigher I including a frame II, having corner posts I2 and I3 rising from a base I4 which preferably rests upon a table or bench I5.

The corner posts I3 have inwardly extending shoulders II and I1 formed by short pieces of angle iron welded thereto. The shoulders I1 are connected to the posts I2 by horizontal members I0. Mounted between and supported on upper ends of the posts I2 and I3 is a material chute having an inclined floor 20 and side walls 21. The side walls 21 have extensions 2l which are connected by an arcuate wall 29. The wall extensions 20 are parallel and the space therebetween contains a gate 30 fixed on a shaft II which is pivotally mounted in the wall extensions 28 and has an arm 32 for actuating the gate l0 between a lower position as shown in Fig. 2 in which it constitutes a downward extension of the floor 2l and an upward position, in which it is shown in Fig. 3, in which it halts the discharge of material downwardly from this floor. Provided on side wall extensions 28 are pins 33 which support the gate ll in its lowered position.

Pivotally mounted on brackets 40 provided on the bottom of the floor 24 are arms 4I of a sec- Amd gate 42 disposed opposite the upper or receiving end of the chute 25. This gate is supported in its lowermostI position by the arms 4I resting on the shoulders Il. 'The gate 42 has an eye 43 formed by a U-shaped band of metal extending downwardly therefrom.

Extending through upper` ends of the posts I2 is a shaft i4 on which i's pivotally mounted a balance beam 46 including a bifurcated bag-supporting arm 4B and a weighing arm 41, the latterextending lengthwise under the chute 25 so that the end of this arm is disposed within the eye 43 (see Fig. 3).

Provided upon the bag-supporting arm 46 is a bag holder 80 which may be of any suitable type but which is preferably collapsible as shown herein.

This bag holder 'comprises a semi-circular base section 5I which is rigidly secured to the bifurcated arm 48, this base section having a bead 52 provided about its lower outer edge. Connected by hinges B3 to the base section BI, are two collapsible sections 54 to which hinges 56 connect two similar sections 5I which are themselves united by a hinge 51 provided with an operating arm Il. The hinge |51 breaks inwardly and the hinges M and 55 break outwardly.

The sections 54 and 5B are provided with pins which extend outwardly through the mesh of a bag when the latter is extended around the bag holder 50 and the bag holder is expanded by pulling on the handle Il as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. When it is desired to release a bag from the holder 5l and place a new bag thereon the operator merely pushes inwardly on the handle 58- which collapses the bag holder as shown in dotted linesin Fig. 1. The bags are then changed and the bag holder expanded so as tov engage and support the second bag.

The weighing arm 41 has latch jaws B5 provided thereon. l

Pivotally mounted in bearings. xed on the frame members I8 is a shaft 61 carrying arms 8l having weights 88 adjustably mounted thereon..

lThis shaft also carries latches 10, a stop 1i, a

lever arm 12 and a manual operating lever 13. 'Ihe latches 1li are disposed Opposite the jaws Il so that when the manual lever 13 is depressed to swing the latches 10 upwardly, and the bag holder 50 is lifted to bring the jaws vIl beneath the latches 10 and the lever 13 then released the weight 69 swings the latches 10 downwardly against the jaws and holds the balance beam 45 in the level position in which it is shown in Fig. 2. The bagger and weigher LII is now in weighing position.

The upper endV of the arm 12 has a pin 15 Operation The bagger and weigher I is adapted to receive rollable objects such as citrus fruit in a stream which may bev intermittent or continuous.

Each bagging and weighing operation starts with l the machine set for weighing as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. To accomplish this the bag holder 50 is iirst supplied with -an empty bag B.

The handle 13 is now manually depressed from the position in which it is shown in Fig. 3 into the position in which it is shown in Fig. 2, so that the latches 10 extend upwardly somewhat from the shaft 61. While holding the handle 13 thus depressed, the bag holder handle 58 is manually lifted to lower latch jaws 65 beneath the latches 140 whereupon the handle 13 is released so that the weights -59 rotate the shaft 61 vto bring the latches-10 downwardly on the latched jaws 65 as shownin Fig. 2, thereby holding the balance beam 45 in an approximately horizontal position. The rotation of the handle 13, as aforesaid, depresses the gate 30 to permitl material in the chute 25 to gravitate thereover into the bag B. Until the balance beam 45 is rocked into horizontal position, however, the gate 42 extends upwardly to obstruct :the delivery of more rollable material such as fruit F to the chute 25.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3 any suitable means such as a delivery board 85 may be provided for delivering fruit to the upper or receiving end of the chute 25.

It is to be noted that while the gate 42 rides on the free end of the weighing arm 41 when the latter is -inclined upwardly as shown in Fig. 3, this gate is supported bycontact of thearms 4| with .the shoulders I6 when the balance beam 45 is positioned as shown in Fig. 2. This permits the weighing arm 41 to be free, duringthe weighing operation, from engagement with the gate 42 or the eye 43 through which it extends. e

'The gates 30 and 42 both being disposed now in their lowered positions, material such as fruit F gravitates downwardly from the delivery board 85 onto the chute 25 and from this the fruit is delivered over the gate 30 into the bag B. It is to be noted that with the bag holder 50 in its upper position, as when the balance beam is in weighing position as shown in Fig. 2, the arcuate wall 29 overlies and is disposed close to the expanded circular rim of the bag holder 50 so as to cooperate therewith in retaining and directing into thevbag all of the fruit rolling downwardly over the chute floor 28 and lowered gate 30.

The weights 69 are ofsuch a size and they are so positioned on the arms 68 that when a predetermined weight of fruit F has been delivered to the bag B, the upward pressure of the jaws 65 against the latchesr 10 rocks the shaft 61 so as to disengage the jaws 65 from .the latches 10. Immediately the weights 69 swing downwardlyl into contact with the stop cushions 80 and lift thegate 30 to halt delivery ofany more fruit to this bag. 'Ihe elevation of the weighing arm 41 in this operation brings this into engagement lwith the gate 42 and lifts the latter as shown in Fig. 3 to intercept the delivery of further fruit F from the delivery .board 85 to the chute 25. Moreover, the balance beam 4I and the gate 42 are held, as positioned in Fig. 3, by

the stop 1| engaging this arm, these parts continuing thus until the device is reset for accomplishing a new weighing operation. This is useful in preventing delivery of more fruit F to the chute 25 while the iilled bag B is removed from the bag holder so as this removal nghtens the l bag arm 4B so thatwithout the presence or the stop 1| as shown in Fig: 3, this arm. would be overbalanced by the weighing-arm 41 and the gate 42. t

The lled bag having been removed from the holder 50 and a fresh empty bag applied to the' a frame; a balance beam pivotally supported at its fulcrum on said frame and having a bag arm extending in one direction therefrom and a weighF ing arm extending` in the opposite direction therefrom; a bag holder on said bag arm for holding an open bag in position to receive material delivered downwardly thereinto; a weight; means for pivotally supporting said weight on said frame beneath said weighing arm; latch means on said pivotal means and on said weighing arm for applying saidweight to the latter to hold the same downwardly until a given weight of material has been delivered into said bag, said latch means being releasable by the resulting rotation of said balance beam to permit said weight to swing downwardly about the axis of said pivotal means; means for delivering material to said bag; and means responsive to the downward swinging of said Weightto halt the delivery of said material fulcrum on said frame; said beam having a bag ,t

arm and a weighing arm; a bag holder on said bag arm; a material delivery chute mounted on said frame above said Weighing arm and inclined downwardly toward the upper open end of said bag; a gate for controlling the delivery of rollable material from the lower end of said chute into said bag; weight means releasably associated with said weighing arm for weighing the material contained in said bag so that said weight means is released-from engagement with said arm when a predetermined quantity of material has been delivered into said bag; and means connecting said weight means to said gate so that when said weight means is so released it actuates said gate yto halt the delivery of material from said chute to saidbag. A,

4. A combination as in claim 3 in which manual means is provided for re-setting said balance beam and said weight means and said gate for accomplishing another bag lling and weighing operation.

5. A combination as in claim 3 in which a second gate is disposed adjacent the upper end of said chute, said gate being controlled by said weighing arm and withdrawn downwardly into an inoperative position when the device is setv for commencing a weifzhing operation, said second gate being extended upwardly with the elevation of said weighing arm incidental to the consummation of a bag-filling and weighing operation to halt further delivery of materia-1 to said chute.

6. A combination as in claim 3 in which a second gate is disposed adjacent the upper end of said chute, said gate being controlled by said weighing arm and withdrawn downwardly into an inoperative position whenthe device is set for commencing a weighing operation, said second nate being extended upwardly with the elevation or said weighing arm incidental t0 the consummation or a bag' lling and' weighing operation to halt further delivery of material to said chute; and means actuated by said weight means to retain said balance beamwith the weighing arm in upward position during the removal of a. lled bag from said bag holder and the placing of an empty bag 0n said bag holder.

7. In a bagger and weigher the combination of a frame; a balance beam pivotally mounted at its fulcrum on said frame; said beam having a bag arm and a weighing arm; a bag holder on said bag arm; a weight; means for applying said weight to said weighing arm to weigh material in a bag suspended from said bag holder andto cause said weight to be released from said arm when a given weight of material has been delivered to said bag; means for delivering material to said bag; and gate means actuated by said weight when the latter is so released to halt the delivery of material to said bag.

- JOHN C. BROOME.

HENRY D. CARLTON. 

